A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers Take Out Mitchell Shield

Having conceded just a single goal throughout the two day tournament, A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers headed into the final with confidence. It quickly showed as they pressured the Panther?s defence with some early shots and control of the midfield.
Unable to penetrate past halfway in the first 10 minutes, Western NSW had goalkeeper Jessica Daymond to thank for a solid near post save from a hard Dan Pacano shot.
However, the narrow escape seemed to wake the Panther?s up. A quick counter attack shortly after resulted in Maddison Gallegos? shot being spectacularly saved by Tigers goalkeeper, Amanda Bowering, who made a fingertip stop at full stretch.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers continued to press as the first half continued. Natalie Spirovski?s dazzling quick footwork was never far away from the Tigers attacks.
As the Tigers pressure continued, so did the Panther?s extraordinary ability to defend. Rachel Braun showed that the Panther?s would not be pushed around as she made a perfectly timed tackle to rescue her team from an A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers breakaway.
This seemed to give the Panther?s strength as Gabrielle Lane?s long range shot went just wide of the mark just before the break.
The second half proved a battle of attrition as both teams tried to win the midfield early on. With few clear cut chances for either team it took something special to break the deadlock.
To the Tigers advantage, the moment of brilliance came from Spirovski. In a skilful individual play, Spirovski showed poise, composure and quick footwork to dribble past three defenders before launching a shot into the bottom right hand corner from just inside the 18 yard box to make it 1-0.
From then the Tigers continued to grow throughout the match as some good play between the midfield allowed the strikers to find room to shoot before the final whistle.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers coach, Tarek Madani, thought his team ?controlled the game? for the most part but labelled the match as ?scrappy?.
?I don?t think our one and two touch was there today,? said Tarek.
?It was difficult since we only had 11 players for the final and without a doubt the girls were 100% tired and fatigued,? he added.
Western NSW Panthers FC coach, Andrea Meikle, also agreed.
?I was happy with the girl?s performance today,? she said.
?However it was clear they were all very tired and it made it tough that we had five girls who were just sixteen.?
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS: Road to the Final (Group A)
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS vs Goulburn Strikers        4-0
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS vs Collegians                  6-0
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS vs Inter Lions                  3-0
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS vs Penrith FC                  4-0
A.P.I.A.-LEICHHARDT TIGERS vs Gladesville Ravens     1-1
Western NSW Panthers FC: Road to the Final (Group B)
Panthers vs Henwood Park        1-0
Panthers vs Mulgoa Valley         3-0
Panthers vs Blacktown Spartans            3-1
Panthers vs Young Lions                       4-2
Panthers vs Rooty Hill RSL        2-0
Panthers vs East  NSW Lions    0-0
-By Caetano Lima